HYFLEXPOWER Project Reports Gas-Fired Power Turbine Operates on 100% Hydrogen

The HYFLEXPOWER Consortium—comprised of Siemens Energy, ENGIE Solutions, Centrax, Arttic, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and four European universities—after a series of tests, successfully operated a gas turbine with 100%. The HYFLEXPOWER project, located at Smurfit Kappa at Saillat-sur-Vienne in France, produces, stores, and re-electrifies 100% renewable hydrogen that is produced by a 1-MW electrolyzer onsite, and then stored in a 1-ton tank and used to power a Siemens Energy SGT-400 industrial gas turbine.

"At ENGIE, we are very proud of this world first,” said Frank Lacroix, Executive Vice President of Energy Solutions at ENGIE. “The HYFLEXPOWER project [has enabled] collaboration among several European partners, testing of technologies, and prospects for the use of renewable hydrogen in the industrial sectors most difficult to decarbonize. We look forward to continuing this decisive work for the future of a decarbonized industry with our partners.”

In 2022, an initial series of tests conducted by the HYFLEXPOWER project enabled the industrial gas turbine to operate with a blend of natural gas and 30% hydrogen. Now the power-to-hydrogen-to-power demonstrator has proven that turbines with dry low emissions technology can be fueled with up to 100% hydrogen as well as with natural gas and blends in between.

"The knowledge and experience gained from the HYFLEXPOWER project where we installed the first gas turbine to run on 100% hydrogen will help us to continue developing our entire gas turbine fleet for a hydrogen-based future,” said Karim Amin, a Member of the Executive Board of Siemens Energy. “The interaction among electrolysis, storage, and hydrogen conversion at one site has been impressively demonstrated, and now it's a matter of scaling the results.”

There are plans to expand the consortium to include additional members, as it wants to extend its operation to industrial heat production and additional operational modes. Future plans include the exploration of pathways to scaling up and commercializing decarbonized electricity generation.

Siemens Energy supplied the electrolyzer for hydrogen production and developed the hydrogen gas turbine. ENGIE built the hydrogen production, storage, and supply for the demonstrator. Centrax was responsible for the package upgrade to ensure safe operation with hydrogen fuel. DLR and the Universities contributed to the hydrogen turbine technology development. Arttic supported the operational project management, while NTUA in Athens (Greece) carried out economic, environmental, and social analysis of the concept.